WALES star Gareth Bale is up there with world stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, according to his Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas.

Gareth Bale celebrates his second goal against Aston Villa on Boxing Day

WALES star Gareth Bale is up there with world stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, according to his Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas.

Bale scored his first Premier League hat-trick on Boxing Day as Spurs thrashed Aston Villa 4-0 to underline his growing reputation in the game.

The 23-year-old has now scored 10 goals this season and has been linked with mega-money summer moves to Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Villas-Boas is determined to keep hold of his prize asset, but admitted after the Villa Park romp: “Gareth is up there with the best.

“He is showing tremendous skills and he is improving every day – he is such a young player – and helping the team. He is one of our major assets.”

Asked if he thought Cardiff-born Bale could get even better, Villas-Boas replied: “I think so.

“You always expect that the team can make an individual even better.

“The team changes so much from one year to another, and as he keeps learning, he will feel even better and probably his performances will improve.

“His finishing is very accurate. He has been prolific in front of goal this season and I think he is enjoying getting into those positions.

“His left foot is wonderful and the power and direction he applies on the ball is wonderful too.”

Villas-Boas, meanwhile, is sure Villa have the right man at the helm in Paul Lambert after their Boxing Day humbling.

It was Villa’s second successive heavy Premier League defeat after being walloped 8-0 at Chelsea on Sunday.

Those two scorelines would suggest major problems for Lambert’s men, not least in defence, while their current league position of 16th – only three points above the relegation zone – is also worrying.

Prior to the game at Stamford Bridge, though, there had been encouraging signs from Lambert’s young team.

They had gone six matches unbeaten in all competitions, a sequence which included an impressive 3-1 league victory at Liverpool and a 4-1 win at Norwich in the Capital One Cup quarter-finals.

And, as far as Villas-Boas is concerned, Villa must stick with the Scot as manager.

“They were a different team at the beginning,” said Villas-Boas – who, like Lambert, was appointed to his present post over the summer.

“When Paul changed the structure to five at the back the results improved for them and they managed to get some important ones.

“I think for them now it is important to find stability defensively, looking at what is happening.

“I think Paul is the right person. He is developing a very young team, and it has nothing to do with teams of the past.

“So hopefully, by him being given time to do that, Villa can achieve the results they want.”

As well as Villas-Boas, it seems Lambert has the backing of Villa supporters, who were singing his name even after the goals started going in on Boxing Day.

Lambert was keen to emphasise that the entire Villa team, rather than just the defence, had to take responsibility for the last two results and expressed his confidence that they will be able to bounce back.

He said: “I believe they will do it. There is no pressure on these lads at all.

“They will go again and give us everything – they will.

“Even though people got carried away before about us beating Norwich and Liverpool, I never did and neither did the team.

“We never let them get too high or too low, because the nature of football is that you can get hurt at any moment.

“We had a good chat the other day with them. For a lot of them, this is their first crack at Premier League football.

“It is not just the defence – it is everywhere. It is unfair to criticise the defence.

“We are in this together, and collectively we have to stop this – not just the defenders.”

Lambert admitted the amount of game-time they are seeing might be catching up with some of his young players, but pointed out Villa’s current injuries were making rotation difficult.

The opportunity to strengthen squads is nearing and Lambert insisted the events of the last few days would not affect his thinking for the January transfer window.

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